I froze in horror as I read the Facebook message that was sent to me. He’s gone. My heart fell to my gut. I felt a sharp pain down my spine. My head started throbbing- I wanted to throw up. My body trembled, and my hands turned to ice. I started looking around the room to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I was trying to wake myself up from a nightmare that was my reality.
According to Sapolsky, a neuroscientist of great renown, a “Stressor” is an event in the outside world that knocks you out of balance. For this paper, I will be discussing my encounters with stress after keeping a 10-day stress journal. I have recorded the time, date, stressor, stress responses, coping strategies, and the effectiveness of these methods. Throughout this process, …show more content…
The most evident of them all was a feeling of depersonalization, also known as derealization. According to the British Medical Journal (1972), “Depersonalization is a strange, complex, and essentially private experience, one characteristic of which is the individual’s difficulty in communicating a comprehensible account of it… the description ‘unreal’ or ‘detached’ is usually accepted” (p. 378). Derealization follows after a traumatic event. In my case, I felt a strange and uncomfortable feeling beyond words. This happened for a couple of minutes. Then my body was in complete shock and pain followed. I started sobbing so much I was barely breathing. My chest felt like it was being squeezed. My headache persisted due to the emotional distress I was enduring. This was by far one of the most dire and uncontrollable situations I’ve ever encountered. The stressor affected me cognitively, socially, and physiologically from when I found out and even days after. I experienced cognitive and emotional stress responses directly after the stressor. As stated by Horowitz (1975), “Rumination is a general stress response tendency”. I kept pertaining to events that happened prior to the event. I reflected upon what I could’ve done differently, or how I could’ve avoided the event. I lingered on trying to create some sort of meaning upon Jerry’s death, which took a mental toll on me. It …show more content…
I noticed a pattern after experiencing a traumatic life event: acute stressors (which I’ve also recorded on my journal) felt miniscule in comparison to Jerry’s death. Some of these stressors included stress from work, class, and other responsibilities. However, I realized that having an optimistic and positive mind is important for my mental health, because it will ultimately affect my daily performance. For example, in reference to my stress log, I experienced stress from someone breaking into my car. I was scared at first because I didn’t feel safe. However, after recognizing the situation as manageable, I started implementing problem focused strategies. Instead of being upset about the situation, I recognized my resources, became proactive and immediately called the cops and told my parents. I realized that my broken window and everything that was stolen in my car is replaceable and repairable. I noticed that my duration of dwelling in negative and stressful situations have improved (shortened). Having the right mindset is crucial for a person’s health. I’ve learned to accept situations better, and learned how to implement effective coping strategies to regain balance and homeostasis quicker. In addition to being optimistic, personal control is also
According to Sapolsky, a neuroscientist of great renown, a “Stressor” is an event in the outside world that knocks you out of balance. For this paper, I will be discussing my encounters with stress after keeping a 10-day stress journal. I have recorded the time, date, stressor, stress responses, coping strategies, and the effectiveness of these methods. Throughout this process, …show more content…
The most evident of them all was a feeling of depersonalization, also known as derealization. According to the British Medical Journal (1972), “Depersonalization is a strange, complex, and essentially private experience, one characteristic of which is the individual’s difficulty in communicating a comprehensible account of it… the description ‘unreal’ or ‘detached’ is usually accepted” (p. 378). Derealization follows after a traumatic event. In my case, I felt a strange and uncomfortable feeling beyond words. This happened for a couple of minutes. Then my body was in complete shock and pain followed. I started sobbing so much I was barely breathing. My chest felt like it was being squeezed. My headache persisted due to the emotional distress I was enduring. This was by far one of the most dire and uncontrollable situations I’ve ever encountered. The stressor affected me cognitively, socially, and physiologically from when I found out and even days after. I experienced cognitive and emotional stress responses directly after the stressor. As stated by Horowitz (1975), “Rumination is a general stress response tendency”. I kept pertaining to events that happened prior to the event. I reflected upon what I could’ve done differently, or how I could’ve avoided the event. I lingered on trying to create some sort of meaning upon Jerry’s death, which took a mental toll on me. It …show more content…
I noticed a pattern after experiencing a traumatic life event: acute stressors (which I’ve also recorded on my journal) felt miniscule in comparison to Jerry’s death. Some of these stressors included stress from work, class, and other responsibilities. However, I realized that having an optimistic and positive mind is important for my mental health, because it will ultimately affect my daily performance. For example, in reference to my stress log, I experienced stress from someone breaking into my car. I was scared at first because I didn’t feel safe. However, after recognizing the situation as manageable, I started implementing problem focused strategies. Instead of being upset about the situation, I recognized my resources, became proactive and immediately called the cops and told my parents. I realized that my broken window and everything that was stolen in my car is replaceable and repairable. I noticed that my duration of dwelling in negative and stressful situations have improved (shortened). Having the right mindset is crucial for a person’s health. I’ve learned to accept situations better, and learned how to implement effective coping strategies to regain balance and homeostasis quicker. In addition to being optimistic, personal control is also